I am so proud of this skirt!

I am so proud of this skirt! It didn't take very long and was pretty easy to make!!  I can't wait to go get the stuff I need to make more!! She will be wearing skirts everyday!! I appliqued a shirt to match, now she just needs a bow! The pictures aren't the greatest because I had to use my phone (the camera flash was washing it all out), but you get the idea.

 Here is a picture of the whole completed outfit!! I can't wait for her to wake up tomorrow so she can try it on!

 A Close-up of the Applique

A picture of just the skirt.  It has an elastic waist so that it will stay up and not be falling down all day!

And Baby Emma was born on Monday night!! Here is a very blurry picture of Kaelyn giving her new baby cousin some kisses!! Hopefully we will be able to get her to hold a kiss for more than half a second so we can get a better picture!  I am so in love with her because she is so sweet and adorable! Congrats to Liz and Joe and big sister Haley! We are so happy for you!!!

Pillowcase Dresses!

My friend, Erin, had started out making these dresses and soon realized that she really had no time to actually make them. So I offered to make them out of the supplies she already bought. I ended up making 2 dresses and 2 bows for her to give to a little girl for her birthday! I'm so happy that she loved them! Here are some pics of the finished products!!

Custom Ribbon Wreaths!!!

I am so excited!  I saw this idea on Pinterest and I knew that I needed to make one!  I started out making the pink, purple, and green one to hang on Liz's hospital door when Emma is born.  Then i got to thinking about it and decided that big sis Haley needed one too so that they could both have cute wreaths on their doors!  So then I started making a Mickey Mouse themed one for Haley!  I am so happy with how they turned out!  I gave them to Liz earlier so that I could post pics!  Actually, I was soooo happy with how they turned out, that I finally made an Etsy shop so that I could sell them!  I'll give you a little info about them,  They have a 14" diameter and are covered with various sizes of ribbon.  I painted the letters with two layers of paint so that I could sand the edges a bit and have the bottom color show through.  The E has pink on top of purple and the H has red on top of black.  Haley's ribbons ended up being a bit shorter but I like them both... Emma's is nice and floppy and Haley's is a little more spikey! I can't wait for Emma to be born on Monday!  They moved up Liz's csection to Monday so now I am scrambling to get all of the things made for her arrival!! Wish me luck...I've got loads to do and I need to get the house ready because Haley is going to be staying with us while Liz, Joe, and Emma are staying at the hospital!! So exciting!! (Also check out my Etsy shop... I've only listed the wreaths so far but hopefully there will be more to come!! Here is a link! JustForYouMandG Etsy Shop )

Very Frustrated!

So, I was working on embroidering these towels last night and it never fails that the last one would mess up... I went out in the living room while it finished stitching to finish up cleaning off the finished ones and when I went back the edge had fallen onto it and stitched through and screwed up on the last letter. Grrr... I guess that's what I get for not babysitting it... So now I need to rip it all out, wash and iron it, and re-do it. I'll get right on that after Tim goes to work. At least I was productive this morning and made a dress for Kaelyn and two for myself. (pics to come later!) Now I'm off to work on the last one! Wish me luck! Haha

C-Section Rate at All Time High- How is this acceptable?

I saw this article from MSNBC today: C-Section Rates Hit All Time High

I do not understand how a 34% c-section rate is acceptable to people! And how we, as women, are allowing doctors to cut us open for no reason at all!  Since when is convienence an acceptable reason for major abdominal surgery?  Why aren't women being told of the risks associated with c-sections.  Not just the risks during the surgery, but the ensuing risks for future pregnancies! Here are a few facts to consider:

The US ranks 42nd in the WORLD for maternal mortality rates!

The CDC reports that there has been NO improvement in maternal mortality rates since 1982!

What makes this even worse is thatthe US has one of the highest cost-per-birth! So we are paying more to have a higher chance of dying?  Maternal deaths in the US are reported on the honor system and there are no penalties for misreporting or failing to report them. So, we could be even lower on the list! I find this very hard to swallow and it makes me wonder why we spend so much money for sub-par maternity care. 

A look into my mind

I am typically a pretty random person.  I end up with so many different things going on that it is hard to keep track sometimes.  I am currently reading Spiritual Midwifery, Husband Coached Childbirth, HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way, and The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. I am in the process of making a flannel rag quilt for my daughter, Kaelyn, that will have princess/fairytale collages embroidered on it.  I am also making a few dresses for K and myself, and some shirts for K as well.  I have an embroidery machine and do monogramming for other people in addition to the projects I am working on.  I just finished crocheting a baby afghan and made some burp cloths for a baby shower last weekend and I need to make some more burp cloths for a baby shower this weekend. My sister-in-law is due any day with my new neice, Emma.  So I have things I'd like to make before she is born! My husband just started working nights, so I figure I should take advantage of him being gone and start doing P90X again (maybe I'll stick with it this time!). I also enjoy taking pictures, although my camera is dead so I have to steal my mom's (haha).  So, I guess that should catch you up to where I am now, although I probably forgot some of my projects.  In addition to all of the crafts and sewing and reading, I also help my Dad run his business by doing his books and helping him make appointments and returning calls for him and chasing around my beautiful 3 year old, Kaelyn.  I hope you enjoy reading my ramblings and seeing some of the projects I actually complete!